Morning Report: The Unravelling of a School Reform
EM - News Moderator 
When San Diego Unified officials pitched a new cluster council system in 2010, they promised it would be a way to empower the community. Parents, teachers and administrators would meet, plan initiatives and together improve the schools they all loved.
As our Jakob McWhinney writes: “[One official] pitched a utopic list of possible benefits. It included everything from increasing student attendance to improving achievement and addressing safety concerns. It wasn’t crazy. Research has long shown community engagement is one of the keys to increasing student achievement.”
But right from the beginning, the council system was plagued by a basic disagreement: Was it meant to give community members more power to make decisions or were the groups simply another advisory organization?
Fifteen years later, they’re not much of either. That’s because they’ve largely unraveled. In the early 2010s, all 16 existing clusters of schools had a council. This year, only six have an active council. Those active councils are concentrated in wealthier parts of the district.
For some of those most involved, the deterioration was devastating, if predictable. They say district leaders never really cared about cluster councils or invested the necessary resources to support them.
Foster Pushes for Permanent Fire Station in Skyline
On Tuesday, Councilmember Henry Foster pressed city officials on why they haven’t built a permanent fire station in his district.
Last month, we wrote about Fire Station 51, which is still operating out of a tent in Skyline. City leaders opened the temporary station in 2015 to improve emergency response times in the area. Then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer promised to open a permanent facility — but that never happened.
“How are we determining how we are moving and prioritizing stations?” he asked at a budget committee meeting. “I assume some of it has to do with coverage and certain things. But if you can help me understand, because we’ve had a temporary station there for quite some time.”
Assistant Chief Ted Moran told Foster what he told us – that the station provides the same level of service as any other station in the city. He also said fire department leaders plan to make improvements to the facility until they have funding available to put up a permanent one.
Foster wasn’t convinced.
“I’m not advocating for any new firehouses until I get that permanent station there.”
Animals Rescued from “Appalling” Animal Sanctuary
“334 cats, 30 dogs, 29 chickens, 8 ducks, 4 geese, 4 turkeys, 3 roosters, 2 peahens, 1 peacock, 2 ravens, 1 crow, 12 goats, 3 pigs and 1 sheep.”
That’s the still-growing list of animals rescued from a troubled sanctuary in Julian since officers with the San Diego Humane Society executed a search warrant on Friday. (Officers with the organization are legit peace officers in the state of California, able to file charges and make arrests.) Not included are up to 100 additional cats, 165 horses and dozens of other animals that remain at the 40-acre property.
Officials had for years heard complaints about the conditions at Julian’s Villa Chardonnay, but the search revealed just how grim the situation was. Volunteers found skinny animals barely able to walk, animals with open wounds and animals with missing extremities. Some of the animals were in such bad shape that they had to be euthanized, officials said.
Gary Weitzman, president and CEO at San Diego Humane Society, called the situation “appalling.”
“There is no question at all about the neglect, at the very least, that occurred out there.”
Song of the Month (Hopefully!)
Shelbi Bennett, “I’m Fine (but I’m lying)”: Local songbird Shelbi Bennett, a mainstay in the Redwoods Music constellation of bands, is out with the first track of her new solo project. It’s a heart-on-her-sleeve crooner that neatly melds her folk-pop sensibilities with atmospheric, cinematic instrumentation. As usual, it’s Bennett’s richly layered and honey-smooth voice that steals the show.
In Other News
- Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget would virtually eliminate the nearly $12 million in arts and culture funding. Cultural policy strategist Linda Caballero Sotelo writes in a new opinion piece that the cut is “a cultural alarm, a canary in the coal mine warning us about the direction of our civic life.” (Voice of San Diego)
- The county Board of Supervisors wants cheaper parking downtown. On Tuesday, supervisors voted in favor of a measure to increase affordable parking at county facilities in downtown San Diego which include the Ash Street Parking Garage, Cedar-Kettner, and James R. Mill building structures. (NBC 7 San Diego)
- Mike Levin remains unchallenged by any other Democrat in the 49th Congressional District race. The incumbent faces two Republicans as he seeks a fifth two-year term. (Union-Tribune)
- A statewide PAC is shaking things up in the District 8 San Diego City Council race. The Latino Caucus of California Counties PAC dropped $100,000 in support of candidate Gerardo Ramirez. (inewsource)
- And another round of endorsements: The Union-Tribune endorsed Ramirez, who currently serves as chief of staff to current Councilmember Moreno. The U-T also endorsed Republican Mark Powell in the District 6 race.
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Mariana Martínez Barba. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.
The post Morning Report: The Unravelling of a School Reform appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
